Hot dogs and apple pie

Published: Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, June 29, 2013 at 10:34 p.m.

Americans will celebrate Independence Day this week, and many won't have a clue what they're celebrating.

I asked about a dozen friends and acquaintances over the past few days: “What do we celebrate on the Fourth of July?”

Several answered freedom. A couple said patriotism. A few shrugged and stared. Two responded correctly that we are celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

But that's just the anecdotal evidence. Over the years, I've written about numerous studies show Americans know little about their country's history or the freedoms that make it special.

A 2008 study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, for instance, found that Americans from all walks of life are more informed about pop culture than civics. The average score for all Americans who took the basic civics test is 49 percent, or an “F .”

In 2011, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, sometimes referred to as “the nation's report card,” found that only 20 percent the country's youngest students scored proficient or better in history. Fewer than 1 in 4 high school seniors score proficient or better.

Last year, a study by the Center for the Study of the American Dream at Xavier University in Cincinnati found that immigrants applying to become U.S. citizens do far better on the citizenship test than most Americans. About 93 percent of immigrants who take the test answer the required six out of 10 questions, or better, necessary to pass. Only 65 percent of the more than 1,000 native-born Americans surveyed by phone passed the test.

So, what — if anything — should we do about this lack of knowledge?

Eric Liu, co-author of “The Gardens of Democracy” and creator of the Citizen University, a conference on creative citizenship, offers an interesting “thought experiment” this month on The Atlantic magazine's website.

“What if citizenship were not, in fact, guaranteed by birth,” asks Liu, who was also a speechwriter and deputy domestic policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. “What if everyone had to earn it upon turning 18, and renew it every 10 years, by taking an exam?”

That's thought-provoking, but I have mixed feelings about it. The founding fathers created one of the most brilliant sets of democratic laws ever conceived in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In America, we are free to be smart, stupid or ignorant of the nation's laws — as long as we are ready, willing and able to accept the consequences.

At best, Americans will rise to the occasion, fulfill their obligations to engage actively as citizens and not only preserve but enhance the freedoms and privileges we enjoy by birthright. At worst, the consequences of a critical mass of Americans failing to know or understand even their most basic freedoms could mean losing some or all of them — perhaps unwittingly.

For me, this stuff is more than just trivia. Knowledge of our history is one of the things that connects us to something larger than ourselves, to the many sacrifices, triumphs and tribulations that collectively form to make us a nation of ... Americans.

Is it possible for someone to be a patriot without knowing these things? Yes. Actions that make the country great, that defend the freedoms we all enjoy, that work to perpetuate them for generations to come — they can trump book knowledge of civics or history. Actions like that — serving in the military is one example — sometimes make history.

But in my book, the thoroughly recorded deficit of common knowledge about what makes our nation unique, what makes us Americans, is discouraging. I do think that each of us has a responsibility to do a lot more than just be born here before proclaiming, as many will sing this holiday, that we're “proud to be an American.” I agree with Liu, who says “most of us have never really thought about what it means to be a citizen.” A good start on all this might be for each of us to think about it a little more.

Courier and Daily Comet Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or keith.magill@houmatoday.com.

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